MCE/P7 P60 Drop-in with Best Beam Quality

I've been looking for a P60 MCE/P7 dropin for high output in a compact host. I prefer a multi-mode dropin for this due to the heat quickly generated on high.

I currently have a nailbender dropin, and it is bright.. but as he mentioned in his sales thread, it still has a slight donut hole.

From your collective experience, what is the best MCE/P7 P60 sized dropin for beam quality? It really doesn't matter to me if it is optic or reflector based. I did consider the Malkoff dropin, but I'm not sure I want an already floody beam further diffused. I believe it is also only offered in single-mode, which is a downside for me.

Thanks!

It isn't a P7 or MC-E, but nailbender's SST-50 has a gorgeous beam, and is plenty bright.

donn_ said:

It isn't a P7 or MC-E, but nailbender's SST-50 has a gorgeous beam, and is plenty bright.

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Yep, that is a great option for a high output P60 that I also looked into, but they aren't readily available in a P60 drop-in format other than from NB (that I am aware of), and unfortunately he can't get any warm-tint right now. He said the warm tinted ones he had short supply on (now gone) were around 5-4000k for which there is a 18 week waiting list to get more. He said the only SST 50 that are available in the US are 6500K GJ bin WS.

The MCE/P7 are much more readily available in P60 format, and in a warm tint. But the issue on these is beam quality...

RichS said:

Yep, that is a great option for a high output P60 that I also looked into, but they aren't readily available in a P60 drop-in format other than from NB (that I am aware of), and unfortunately he can't get any warm-tint right now. He said the warm tinted ones he had short supply on (now gone) were around 5-4000k for which there is a 18 week waiting list to get more. He said the only SST 50 that are available in the US are 6500K GJ bin WS.

The MCE/P7 are much more readily available in P60 format, and in a warm tint. But the issue on these is beam quality...

Click to expand...

If you really can't stand the 6500k (which would, by the way, be CONSIDERABLY brighter - a good GJ bin can be 50%+ brighter then a lower warm bin), wait. The supplier that he uses quotes 18 weeks, but it generally takes 3-4 at the most. If you can, wait until he has them back in stock.

The hole is more or less in most of the reflectors tried , Ive used 3 different ones to date , some more noticeable than others .

But its something you will only really notice when shinning your light on nice smooth walls , not really noticeable outdoors .

RichS said:

The MCE/P7 are much more readily available in P60 format, and in a warm tint. But the issue on these is beam quality...

Click to expand...

Flashlightlens.com has just shipped me two or three different diffuser lenses sized for a P60 (Surefire 6P/9P) head (28.6mm, though I think that for one I settled for 28.8mm). My goal: To find one that turns my NailBender MC-E's bright but ugly beam into a thing of beauty. If I forget to report back in this thread, remind me in a PM.

Meanwhile, what about Malkoff's MC-E? Isn't it warm, and diffused through an optic?

Paul_in_Maryland said:

Flashlightlens.com has just shipped me two or three different diffuser lenses sized for a P60 (Surefire 6P/9P) head (28.6mm, though I think that for one I settled for 28.8mm). My goal: To find one that turns my NailBender MC-E's bright but ugly beam into a thing of beauty. If I forget to report back in this thread, remind me in a PM.

Meanwhile, what about Malkoff's MC-E? Isn't it warm, and diffused through an optic?

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Great! Looking forward to seeing how this works out..

Yep, I mentioned the Malkoff MC-E, but it uses a 20 degree floody optic, which is a little more floody than I'm looking for. Also - no levels... I asked Gene about using a less floody optic, but he said it would creat too much of an ugly donut hole.

old4570 said:

The hole is more or less in most of the reflectors tried , Ive used 3 different ones to date , some more noticeable than others .

But its something you will only really notice when shinning your light on nice smooth walls , not really noticeable outdoors .

Click to expand...

Good to know. Did one of them happen to be a Dereelight MC-E module? I am curious to know how those do. Although at only 2.1A I'm not sure they would come close to the output of my nailbender.

RichS said:

I did consider the Malkoff dropin, but I'm not sure I want an already floody beam further diffused. I believe it is also only offered in single-mode, which is a downside for me.Thanks!

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If you use a Malkoff host, you can use the Hi/Lo ring which allows a nice low level along with the normal high.

FroggyTaco said:

If you use a Malkoff host, you can use the Hi/Lo ring which allows a nice low level along with the normal high.

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Thanks, that is definitely a good option. But I have a host in mind for this drop-in already. It is a 1x18650 Leefbody w/ C2 head and Z58 tail. I do have one of the 2-stage conversion kits from the Sandwich Shoppe that I'm using on another C2 w/ an M30W - great combo BTW - the only downside is the 2-stage conversion switch is pretty hard to press.

I have had the Nailbender P7 annd SST-50 drop-in and the SST-50 has the best beam. No donut or artifacts. It actually is nice cream white with perfect beam.

If you choose the SST-50 it would be best to go with the 2.5A mode version since your hosts is a 6P size.

I had a Malkoff P7 drop-in too, but the current was over 3A and the OTF numbers weren't what I expected.:mecry:

Edit: has anyone used any of those DX or KD 25~26mm optic drop-ins...I know they make them for the XR-E's, but it would be cool if someone found one for the MC-E...

best of luck,
bigC

RichS said:

I currently have a nailbender dropin, and it is bright.. but as he mentioned in his sales thread, it still has a slight donut hole.

Click to expand...

I have Dereelight's MC-E P60 reflector in my CL1H v4 and it gives a beautiful smooth flood beam with no visible donut/dark spot/cross artifact. Check FlashlightConnection as they should be available.

Sorry , I make my own [ Assemble ] .